Hot Titles on the High School Summer Reading List
Reviews by Melissa Oxborrow

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[July 29, 2016]   Trying to motivate your high schooler to work on their summer reading project? Here are a few titles to recommend! If the titles below don’t pique your reader’s interest, we have the updated Lincoln Community High School Reading List available at the library and can help them choose something they’ll enjoy. Lincoln Public Library owns all titles on the list and can also help you request a copy from another library if our copy is checked out. Some titles are also available to check out on your tablet, laptop or e-reader!

Bruiser
by Neal Schusterman, c2011


Tennyson is convinced, like the rest of his classmates, that Brewster (or “The Bruiser” as he is known at school) is trouble---with a capital T. When his younger sister Brontë starts dating Bruiser, convinced that there is something unique and even gentle behind his rough exterior, Tennyson makes it his mission to learn the truth behind Bruiser’s reputation. The closer Tennyson and Brontë come to really knowing Bruiser the more questions they have. Why is he so determined to be alone? And where do the injuries come from that he is always trying to hide? What they find will change forever how they see themselves, their families, their friends---and even their enemies.

Hard to categorize, this beautifully written and thought-provoking book reads like realistic fiction but has a fantastical element, as Bruiser literally takes on the physical and emotional hurts of those he cares about. It’s a fascinating and heartbreaking read for both girls and guys.

 



Leviathan
by Scott Westerfeld, c2010


Two brilliant young people and two ideologies collide in this alternative history of World War I. Aleksandr is the son of the murdered Archduke Ferdinand and as such is a devoted Clanker. He is fleeing for his life when his path crosses with Deryn aboard the Leviathan, a British whale airship. Deryn Sharp is training with the British Air Services to become an airman and is desperately trying to keep the crew from discovering she is a girl. Alek and Deryn soon find themselves on the front lines of World War I caught between two sides---the Austro-Hungarian Clankers and their steam-powered mechanical beasts and the British Darwinists whose technology is based on genetically altered creatures. Can their growing friendship survive their opposing loyalties?

The first in a trilogy, Leviathan is a great pick for steampunk fans who enjoy lots of action coupled with great characters.

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The Madman’s Daughter
by Megan Shepherd, c2013


Juliet is only sixteen and her life is crumbling around her. Rumors abound in London about the vile experiments her scientist father has been doing on animals---and humans. Determined to find out the truth, Juliet travels to the remote tropical island where he is apparently living and working. Along with her father’s young and handsome assistant, Montgomery---and the beguiling castaway, Edward---Juliet faces unforeseen horrors as she learns the extent of her father’s meddling with nature. Can she and the two men she can’t help care for escape her father’s madness? And can Juliet control her growing fascination with her father’s work?
This book, first in a suspenseful trilogy and inspired by H.G. Well’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, is a perfect choice for those who like their mysteries with a side of horror.

Matched
by Ally Condie, c2011


Cassia has never before questioned her place. She has always believed the Society knows best. She has followed their plan for her education and career and is ready for them to choose her husband, as well. At the Match Banquet her best friend Xander’s face appears on the screen, obviously the perfect choice for her---but then the screen flashes Ky Markham’s face, before reverting back to Xander’s. The Society tries to explain it away as a rare computer glitch. After all, Ky has been classified as an Aberration. But suddenly Cassia starts asking questions she’s never asked before. If the Society can make one mistake, can it make others? And if Xander is supposed to be her perfect match---why can’t she stop thinking about Ky?

Lovers of The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Giver will fall hard for this dystopian trilogy that explores the themes of choice and consequence, freedom and sacrifice.

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To check out these books or to get recommendations for other great reads on the Lincoln Community High School Reading List, please come see us at the Lincoln Public Library, 725 Pekin Street.

[By MELISSA OXBORROW, Lincoln Public Library District]

 

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